No Scrooges Here

So, Thanksgiving came and went and nobody at Static’s house burned the rolls or even complained about the food. The Horned Frog football team is kicking butts nationally. Public transportation is getting attention in Fort Worth (see On Second Thought, page 4). Collin Herringand Jeff Prince have new albums out. Rick Perry has both Republican and Democratic opponents. People are starting to pay attention to the ugly side of the Barnett Shale. The heat is working at Static’s house, and there’s a new puppy happily digging holes in the backyard and chewing off sprinkler system nozzles.

The people who are taking issue with our recent Turkey Awards are at least doing so in entertaining ways (Letters, also on page 4). And – heart be still – yet another problem at city hall that was highlighted in the Weekly but ignored by the Powers That Flee, is finally being acknowledged (years later) and fixed by city officials (see the Metro story, just above this column). The fall colors around town are magnificent. And even a hard rain on the first really cold day of the season can’t make all that nice stuff go away.

Who says Static is always grumpy? Now, if the city would just reinstitute its Ethics Committee and take away the cops’ Tasers, life would be cozier than the corner booth at Lili’s.

The Coach Re-Ups

Speaking of the Frogs, it seems like every year about this time, TCU head football coach Gary Patterson gets caught up in the rumor mill, with hints that he will be leaving Cowtown for a bigger program elsewhere. That discussion ramped up again this week, when Notre Dame fired coach Charlie Weis and Patterson’s name came up as the next possible leader of the Golden Domers.

Well, that ain’t going to happen. TCU has signed Coach Gary to another extension – the dailies and TV sportscasters reported that the new contract runs through 2016.

So why would Patterson take his name out of consideration for one of the top college coaching jobs in the country? There are a number of reasons, but two jump out right away.

The first is that Kelsey Patterson, who married Gary in 2004, is a Fort Worth native who has been quite active through the years in the city’s business and philanthropic community (she was once marketing director for the Fort Worth Zoo). She now runs the Gary Patterson Foundation, which raises money for disadvantaged youths. Static knows Kelsey doesn’t run everything in Gary’s life, but a move to South Bend, Ind., would be a tough sell to a wife who hails from here.

The other reason Patterson is staying is that his team is going to be really good again next year. The Mountain West Conference announced its all-conference teams this week, and TCU dominated as expected. TCU placed 15 players on the first and second teams, and nine of those will be coming back next year.

When you look at all the factors – a BCS bowl berth this year, a 12-and-oh record and a conference championship, most starters returning, a standout recruiting class, and a wife who prefers to live here – well it just makes logical sense for Gary Patterson to persevere in purple.